Digital asset distribution by transaction device

ABSTRACT

A user can associate a digital asset corresponding to a value with a transaction device to be used by another user. For example, a first user can load a digital asset corresponding to a cryptocurrency amount onto a transaction device, where the first user then provides the transaction device to a second user. The second user can utilize the cryptocurrency amount on the transaction device to conduct a transaction. The generation and use of digital assets can be managed using ledgers that store data in the form of block chains.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/300,689, filed Nov. 12, 2018, which is a 371 National Phase ofInternational Application No. PCT/US2016/042653, filed Jul. 15, 2016,the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND

A user may want to perform a distribution process (e.g., for wages,goods, data, etc.) with other users. However, it is difficult to conductthe distribution process securely if these other users do not have anyrelationship with an entity that oversees the distribution process. Forexample, the other users may not have a registered account hosted by theentity. Typically, such an account can indicate that a user can betrusted because the entity has already conducted an authenticationprocess for the user. As a result, the user that distributes wages,goods, or data to these other users that do not have accounts performsthe distribution process without sufficient security.

Embodiments of the present invention address these and other problems,individually and collectively.

BRIEF SUMMARY

One embodiment of the present invention is related to a method performedby a service provider computer. The service provider computer mayreceive, from a computing device of a first user, a request to generatea digital asset. The service provider computer can then generate thedigital asset and may activate the digital asset with respect to atransaction device to be provided to a second user. In some embodiments,activating the digital asset with respect to the transaction devicecomprises associating a digital asset identifier and a valuecorresponding to the digital asset with the transaction device. In somecases, the transaction device may be a card.

The service provider computer can then send a request to update a firstunalterable electronic ledger to indicate the association of the digitalasset with the transaction device. In some embodiments, the request toupdate the first unalterable electronic ledger may be sent to a firstfinancial institution computer, wherein the first financial institutioncomputer can update the first unalterable electronic ledger. The serviceprovider computer may receive an indication that the second userutilized the transaction device to conduct a transaction and can thensend a request to update a second unalterable electronic ledger toindicate the use of the digital asset by the second user. In someembodiments, the request to update the second unalterable electronicledger may be sent to a second financial institution computer, whereinthe second financial institution computer can update the secondunalterable electronic ledger. In some embodiments, the service providercomputer may also send a request to update the first unalterableelectronic ledger to indicate the user of the digital asset by thesecond user. In some cases, the first unalterable electronic ledger andthe second unalterable electronic ledger may each be in the form of ablock chain.

In some embodiments, the service provider computer may performadditional steps, which may be performed prior to the second userutilizing the transaction device. The service provider computer mayreceive, from the computing device, a request to associate thetransaction device with a transaction device identifier. The serviceprovider computer can then generate the transaction device identifierand may associate the transaction device with the transaction deviceidentifier. In some embodiments, a reader device that is incommunication with the computing device may provision the transactiondevice with the transaction device identifier.

Another embodiment of the present invention is related to a methodperformed by a computing device. The computing device can receive, froma first user, a request to generate a digital asset. The computingdevice may then send the request to a service provider computer, whichcan generate the digital asset. The computing device may then initiateactivation of the digital asset with respect to a transaction device tobe provided to a second user. The service provider computer may send arequest to update a first unalterable electronic ledger to indicate theassociation of the digital asset with the transaction device. The seconduser may utilize the transaction device to conduct a transaction and theservice provider computer may send a request to update a secondunalterable electronic ledger to indicate the user of the digital assetby the second user.

Another embodiment of the present invention is related to a serviceprovider computer. The service provider computer may comprise aprocessor and a computer readable medium coupled to the processor. Thecomputer readable medium can comprise code, executable by the processor,to implement methods described herein.

Another embodiment of the present invention is related to a computingdevice. The computing device may comprise a processor and a computerreadable medium coupled to the processor. The computer readable mediumcan comprise code, executable by the processor, to implement methodsdescribed herein.

These and other embodiments of the invention are described in furtherdetail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram showing a digital asset distribution systemaccording to embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a method according to embodiments of the

invention.

FIG. 3 shows a system with a flow diagram of distribution of a digitalasset by a transaction device according to embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 4 shows a system with a flow diagram of use of a digital assetassociated with a transaction device according to embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a system according to embodiments of the

invention.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a non-financial system according toembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram shows a number of entries in the form ablock chain according to embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Prior to discussing embodiments of the invention, descriptions of someterms may be helpful in providing a better understanding of theinvention.

“Digital currency” may refer to units of value that may be used as aform of payment for transactions, including financial transactions.Digital currency may be currency that is electronically generated by andstored within a user computing device. Digital currency may be purchasedusing conventional forms of currency (e.g., fiat currency) and generatedwith a specific value. Typically, the digital currency may not have aphysical form of tender but may be accessible through a user computingdevice (e.g., mobile device) using a software application such as adigital wallet or mobile application. A type of digital currency may becryptocurrency, which utilizes cryptographic methods for verification.

A “digital asset” may refer to digital content associated with a value.In some cases, the digital asset may also indicate a right to use thevalue and other attributes associated with the digital asset. Forexample, a digital asset may be data that indicates a digital currencyvalue, such as a cryptocurrency value. The digital asset may alsoindicate a plurality of digital asset attributes, such as a bankidentification number (BIN) identifier, a digital asset identifier, atimestamp, an acquirer public key, a resource provider identifier, andresource provider location. In other embodiments, the digital asset maycorrespond to other non-currency values, such as access privileges data(e.g., number of authorized usages) and time limit data.

A “user” may refer to an entity that can perform transactions. In someembodiments, the user may be an entity involved in digital assetstransactions. One type of user is a distributing user. A distributinguser may provide instructions for generation and distribution of digitalassets. The distributing user may distribute digital assets byactivating them with respect to transaction devices that are to beutilized by recipient users. A recipient user is a user that may utilizea transaction device associated with a digital asset distributed by adistributing user to conduct transactions. The recipient user may usethe digital asset by using the transaction device associated with thedigital asset. In some exemplary cases, the distributing user andrecipient user may be an employer and an employee, a parent and a child,or a manager and team member, respectively.

A “cryptocurrency payment network” may refer to one or more servercomputers that function to operate and maintain a cryptocurrency system.The cryptocurrency payment network may function to facilitate thegeneration/issuance and distribution of digital currency between deviceswithin the cryptocurrency payment network. The cryptocurrency paymentnetwork may also function to enable the performance of transactionsbetween devices for the transfer or goods/services and/or the transferof funds. The cryptocurrency payment network may operate nodes thatmanage a ledger of transactions. In some embodiments, the cryptocurrencypayment network may also be known as a digital assets payment network.

A “ledger of transactions” may refer to a compilation of data fromprevious transactions. The ledger of transactions may be a database orother comparable file structure that may be configured to store datafrom all previous transactions performed using a digital currency,including the date and time of the transaction, the transaction amount,and identification information for the participants of the transaction(e.g., the sender and the receiver of the transaction amount). In someembodiments, the ledger of transactions may be unalterable electronicledgers, which may be in the form of block chains. In some embodiments,each node within a cryptocurrency payment network may store their owncopy of the ledger of transactions. In other embodiments, only somenodes may store their own copy of the ledger of transactions.

An “issuer node” may be a device or module that enables management ofthe creation and issuance of digital assets. In some embodiments, theissuer node may be operated by a server computer (e.g., financialinstitution computer), which may utilize the issuer node to generate adigital asset.

A “manager node” may be a device or module that enables management ofdigital assets utilized by users. The digital assets utilized by usersmay be those that are activated with respect to a transaction device. Insome embodiments, the manager node may be operated by a server computer(e.g., financial institution computer), which may submit data to themanager node to update ledgers of transactions.

A “digital signature” may refer to an electronic signature for amessage. In some embodiments, the digital signature may be used tovalidate the authenticity of a transaction message sent within acryptocurrency payment network. A digital signature may be a uniquevalue generated from a message and a private key using an encryptingalgorithm. In some embodiments, a verification algorithm using a publickey may be used to verify the signature. The digital signature may be anumeric value, an alphanumeric value, or any other type of dataincluding a graphical representation.

A “key” may refer to a piece of data or information used for analgorithm. A key may be a unique piece of data and is typically part ofa key pair where a first key may be used to encrypt a message, while asecond key may be used to decrypt the encrypted message. The key may bea numeric or alphanumeric value and may be generated using an algorithm.A management system server computer in a cryptocurrency payment networkmay generate and assign a unique key pair for each node in thecryptocurrency payment network.

A key pair may include a public key and a private key. The key pair maybe used by nodes and/or payment entities to conduct transactions in thecryptocurrency payment network. The key pair may be generated by aserver computer associated with the cryptocurrency payment network ormay be generated by a financial institution server computer for apayment entity when an account with the financial institution servercomputer is created. The public key may be distributed throughout thecryptocurrency payment network in order to allow for verification ofpayment transaction messages signed using the corresponding private key.

A “financial institution server computer” may refer to a computerassociated with a financial institution (e.g., bank). Examples offinancial institution server computers may include an access device,terminal, or a web server computer hosting a financial institutionserver Internet website.

A “resource providing entity” may be an entity that may make resourcesavailable to a user. A resource providing entity may also be known as aresource provider. Examples of resource providing entities includedistributors, merchants, vendors, suppliers, owners, traders, and thelike. In some embodiments, such entities may be a single individual,small groups of individuals, or larger groups of individuals (e.g.,companies). Resource providing entities may be associated with one ormore physical locations (e.g., supermarkets, malls, stores, etc.) andonline platforms (e.g., e-commerce websites, online companies, etc.). Atthe physical locations, the resource providing entity may host an accessdevice. In some embodiments, resource providing entities may makeavailable physical items (e.g., goods, products, appliances, etc.) tothe user. In other embodiments, resource providing entities may makeavailable digital resources (e.g., electronic documents, electronicfiles, etc.) or time (e.g., rental time, use time, etc.) to the user. Inother embodiments, resource providing entities may manage access tocertain resources by the user.

A “server computer” may include a powerful computer or cluster ofcomputers. For example, the server computer can be a large mainframe, aminicomputer cluster, or a group of servers functioning as a unit. Inone example, the server computer may be a database server coupled to aWeb server. The server computer may be coupled to a database and mayinclude any hardware, software, other logic, or combination of thepreceding for servicing the requests from one or more client computers.The server computer may comprise one or more computational apparatusesand may use any of a variety of computing structures, arrangements, andcompilations for servicing the requests from one or more clientcomputers.

A “computing device” may refer to an electronic device that isassociated with a user. In some embodiments, the computing device can beused to communicate with another device, computer, or system. Thecomputing device can be utilized to conduct a transaction and may becapable of conducting communications over a network. A computing devicemay be in any suitable form. For example, suitable computing devices canbe hand-held and compact so that it can fit into a user's wallet and/orpocket (e.g., pocket-sized). The computing device can include aprocessor, memory, input devices, and output devices, operativelycoupled to the processor. Specific examples of computing devices includecellular or mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers personaldigital assistants (PDAs), pagers, portable computers, smart cards, andthe like. Additional computing devices may include wearable devices,such as smart watches, glasses fitness bands, ankle bracelets, rings,earrings, etc. In some embodiments, the computing device may includeautomobiles with remote communication capabilities.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to distribution of digitalassets by a transaction device. For example, a first user may distributedigital assets corresponding to a value to a plurality of recipientusers based on associating the digital assets to appropriate transactiondevices to be provided to the plurality of recipient users. For example,a digital asset can be associated with a transaction device by loadinginformation (e.g., digital asset attributes) related to the digitalasset, such as a value and a digital asset identifier, onto thetransaction device. In another example, a digital asset can beassociated with a transaction device by storing, at a server computer, atransaction device identifier corresponding to the transaction device inassociation with information related to the digital asset. The recipientusers can then conduct a transaction using the digital asset associatedwith their transaction device. In some embodiments, the distribution anduse of the digital assets can be managed using ledgers of transaction.In some cases, the ledgers may be unalterable electronic ledgers, whichmay be in the form of block chains.

In some cases, the first user may distribute a digital asset associatedwith a cryptocurrency value to a second user. In an exemplary case, thefirst user may be an employer and the second user may be an employee,where the first user may distribute wages to the second user forcompensation. The first user can input an instruction into theircomputing device to associate a digital asset corresponding to acryptocurrency amount with a transaction device that is to be providedto the second user. The second user can then utilize the cryptocurrencyamount on the transaction device to conduct a transaction. In someembodiments, the generation and use of digital assets can be managedusing ledgers that store data in the form of block chains.

Embodiments of the invention provide advantages. For example,embodiments of the invention forgo the need for consumers and resourceproviders to manage cash for transactions, which can be cumbersome.Accordingly, embodiments of the invention enable consumers that do nothave a relationship with a financial institution (e.g., bank) to receivedigital currency, as well as perform cashless transactions in a securemanner. Embodiments of the invention also enable a way for users toconveniently distribute digital assets to a plurality of recipientusers, as well as easily manage information related to the distributeddigital assets (e.g., recipient entities, time distributed, valuedistributed, etc.) without the need for physical cash. The use ofcryptographic techniques to manage electronic ledgers of transactionsalso enables a secure system for associating digital assets withtransaction devices, since data recorded in the ledgers can beconfigured to be unalterable. For example, any changes to the datastored in the electronic ledger cannot go undetected, since each entryin the electronic ledger is generated based on previous entries in theelectronic ledger. This can make it difficult for malicious parties toinappropriately reuse a digital asset. Since multiple entities may storethe unalterable electronic ledgers, this can enable an additional layerof security because the multiple entities may be requested to verify thedistribution or past use of the digital asset before it is utilized.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram showing a digital asset distribution systemaccording to embodiments of the invention. FIG. 1 includes a digitalassets service system 110, an authorization service system 120, aclearing and settlement service system 130, a distributor digital assetsmanagement system 140, a recipient digital assets management system 150,an issuer node 142, and a manager node 152. Each of these servicesystems may be run on a single computer or multiple systems andcomputers that may be in operative communication with each other via anysuitable communication medium (including the Internet), using anysuitable communications protocol.

For simplicity of illustration, a certain number of components are shownin FIG. 1 . It is understood, however, that embodiments of the inventionmay include more than one of each component. In addition, someembodiments of the invention may include fewer than or greater than allof the components shown in FIG. 1 . Further details related to thecomponents shown in FIG. 1 are described with respect to other figuresdescribed herein.

Digital assets service system 110 enables digital assets to be utilizedfor transactions. Digital assets service system 110 may include adigital asset account management service system, which can enablemanagement of digital assets corresponding to digital assets accountshosted by digital assets service system 110. Digital assets servicesystem 110 may also include service systems that enable resourceproviders and users to utilize services provided by digital assetsservice system 110. In some cases, these services may include providingapplications that can enable resource providers and users to view,update, and manage information associated with digital assets that theyhave distributed or received.

In some cases, digital assets service system 110 can be utilized by auser (e.g., distributing user) to distribute digital assetscorresponding to certain values to other users (e.g., recipient user).Accordingly, the digital asset distribution system may further includedistributor digital assets management system 140 and recipient digitalassets management system 150.

Distributor digital assets management system 140 enables a distributinguser to distribute digital assets corresponding to certain values torecipient users. For each recipient user, distributor digital assetsmanagement system 140 can allow for a digital asset to be activated withrespect to a transaction device that is to be used by the recipientuser. Distributor digital assets management system 140 can also enablemanagement of distributed digital assets based on recording informationrelated to generated and distributed digital assets (e.g., timegenerated, recipient user and distributor user identificationinformation, value, digital asset identifier, etc.). In someembodiments, distributor digital assets management system 140 may recordthe information using issuer node 142.

Recipient digital assets management system 150 enables recipient usersto use digital assets distributed by a distributing user. Recipientdigital assets management system 150 may manage digital assetsassociated with transaction devices that are used by recipient users.Recipient digital assets management system 150 may enable management ofthe digital assets based on recording information related to digitalassets utilized by recipient users (e.g., time used, value used, etc.).In some embodiments, recipient digital assets management system 150 mayrecord the information using manager node 152.

Issuer node 142 manages information related to the creation anddistribution of digital assets. Issuer node 142 may generate a digitalasset corresponding to a certain value upon request and recordinformation related to the creation of the digital asset and issuance ofthe digital asset to a transaction device to be used by a recipientuser. Issuer node 142 may manage the information by recording relevantdata in a ledger of transactions. In some embodiments, the ledger oftransactions may be in the form of a block chain where each new block inthe block chain references previous blocks (e.g., hash of previousblock) such that any tampering of data stored in these previous blockscannot go undetected.

Manager node 152 manages information related to digital assetsassociated with recipient users. For example, a recipient user may usetheir transaction device for a transaction, wherein the transactiondevice is associated with a digital asset corresponding to a certainvalue. Manager node 152 may then record information indicating that thedigital asset associated with the transaction device was utilized (e.g.,time of the transaction, value utilized, participating entities, etc.).Manager node 152 can record the information in a ledger of transactions.In some embodiments, the ledger of transactions may be in the form of ablock chain where each new block in the block chain references previousblocks (e.g., hash of previous block) such that any tampering of datastored in these previous blocks cannot go undetected.

In one exemplary case, the digital asset distribution system may beutilized to enable a payroll system. The distributing user may be anemployer and the recipient users may be employees. The employer canactivate digital assets corresponding to cryptocurrency amounts withrespect to transaction devices that are to be provided to the employeesfor compensation. While the payroll system demonstrates one use of thedigital asset distribution system, embodiments are not so limited. Forexample, the digital assets can correspond to other suitable valuesother than cryptocurrency values that may be provided from adistributing user to recipient users. Exemplary non-currency valuesinclude time limit data and access privileges data (see FIG. 6 ).

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a method according to embodiments of theinvention. The method may be performed by a distributing user. In theexemplary case described with respect to FIG. 2 , the distributing usermay request to generate and distribute a digital asset corresponding toa cryptocurrency value.

At step 201, the distributing user sets up a digital asset account usingtheir computing device. The distributing user may set up their digitalasset account by installing a digital asset application on theircomputing device. Any of the actions described as being performed by thedigital asset application may be performed by a service providercomputer associated with the digital asset application. The distributinguser may register information, such as a name, address, and password tobe associated with their digital asset account. In some embodiments, thedistributing user may also register information related to their bankaccount (e.g., account identifier), from which amounts can be debitedcorresponding to cryptocurrency values associated with digital assetsdistributed by the distributing user. The digital asset applicationenables the distributing user to easily manage digital assets that ithas generated and distributed.

At step 202, the distributing user obtains a transaction device. In somecases, the distributing user may request a third party to provide thetransaction device. In some embodiments, the transaction device may be acard, which may initially be blank and may not have any informationassociated with it. It is understood that in other embodiments, thetransaction device may be another suitable device that can utilized fortransactions as described herein.

At step 203, the distributing user inputs a request to generate adigital asset into their computing device. The distributing user mayinput the request into an interface provided by the digital assetapplication, along with information related to the digital asset. Forexample, the distributing user may specify a cryptocurrency valuecorresponding to the digital asset. The digital asset application maythen generate the digital asset according to the information input bythe distributing user. In some embodiments, the digital assetapplication may contact a financial institution computer associated withthe distributing user's bank account to ensure that it has enough fundsrelative to the cryptocurrency value. After generating the digitalasset, the digital asset application may indicate to the distributinguser that the requested digital asset was successfully generated.

At step 204, the distributing user inputs a request to activate thedigital asset with respect to the transaction device. The distributinguser may input the request into an interface provided by the digitalasset application. In some embodiments, the activation process can beconducted using a reader device that is in communication with thecomputing device that is running the digital asset application. Forexample, the reader device may enable information to be written to thetransaction device. In some cases, if the transaction device is a cardand the reader device enables swipe functionality, the distributing usermay swipe the transaction device using the reader device. After thetransaction device is swiped, it may be provisioned with informationrelated to the digital asset. The information may indicate a digitalasset identifier (e.g., alphanumeric string) and the cryptocurrencyvalue corresponding to the digital asset. In other embodiments, thereader device may enable use of other contact or contactless methods oftransferring information that can be utilized for the activationprocess.

In this case, since the transaction device is being activated with adigital asset for the first time, the activation process may alsoinclude association of a transaction device identifier with thetransaction device. In some embodiments, the transaction deviceidentifier may be formatted as a card number (e.g., including anexpiration date and card verification value) and may be generated by afinancial institution computer that manages the funds associated withthe transaction device. After the transaction device is swiped asdescribed above, it may be provisioned with the transaction deviceidentifier in addition to information related to the digital asset.Accordingly, the digital asset may be associated with the transactiondevice by the transaction device identifier.

It is understood that in other embodiments, a reader device is notneeded to activate a digital asset with respect to a transaction device.For example, after the transaction device has been associated with atransaction device identifier, the distributing user can simply input arequest with the transaction device identifier into the digital assetapplication to associate the digital asset with the transaction device.Subsequently, the backend service provider computer associated with thedigital asset application may store information indicating that thedigital asset is associated with the transaction device identifier.Hence, the transaction device does not have to be directly programmed tostore information related to the digital asset.

At step 205, the distributing user may provide the transaction device toa recipient user. For example, the distributing user may directlydeliver or mail the transaction device to the recipient user. Therecipient user may receive the transaction device and utilize thetransaction device to conduct a transaction up to the cryptocurrencyvalue associated with the digital asset. The value used for thetransaction may be debited from the bank account indicated by thedistributing user during registration in step 201.

The distributing user may repeat steps 202 to 205 for any suitablenumber of recipient users. For example, if the distributing user is anemployer that is distributing digital assets corresponding tocryptocurrency values to employees for compensation, the distributinguser may activate digital assets with respect to each transaction deviceto be provided to the employees. Further details related to thegeneration, distribution, and utilization of digital assets aredescribed with respect to at least FIG. 3 .

While an embodiment in which the distributing user obtains a transactiondevice and provides the transaction device to the recipient user isdescribed with respect to FIG. 2 , embodiments are not so limited. Inother embodiments, the distributing user may request to activate thedigital asset with respect to a transaction device that is in possessionby the recipient user. For example, the transaction device may be amobile phone operated by the recipient user. In this case, thetransaction device identifier may be any suitable identifier that can beassociated with the mobile phone. For example, the transaction deviceidentifier may be a mobile device identifier, an email address, phonenumber, or other suitable identifier. The distributing user can obtainthe transaction device identifier (e.g., from the recipient user) andmay then enter the transaction device identifier into the digital assetapplication on their computing device to register and identify thetransaction device with which the digital asset is to be activated. Inorder to activate the digital asset with respect to the transactiondevice identifier, the backend service provider computer that managesthe digital asset can then store or request other entities to storeinformation indicating that the digital asset is associated with thetransaction device identifier.

FIG. 3 shows a system with a flow diagram of distribution of a digitalasset by a transaction device according to embodiments of the invention.FIG. 3 includes a user 310 that distributes a transaction device 50 to auser 312, a computing device 330 operated by user 310, and a readerdevice 320 that is in communication with computing device 330. FIG. 3further includes an issuer node 340 and a ledger 370 that may beoperated by a financial institution computer 350, a digital assetsservice provider computer 360, and a manager node 381 and a manager node382 residing on a digital assets payment network 380. Financialinstitution computer 350 may be associated with the financialinstitution that hosts a bank account of user 310.

In the exemplary case described with respect to FIG. 2 , user 310 is adistributing user and user 312 is a recipient user. User 310 may operatecomputing device 330, which runs a digital asset application throughwhich user 310 can input requests to generate and activate digitalassets. A key pair may be generated corresponding to user 310 duringinitial set up of the digital asset application. User 310 may obtaintransaction device 50, which may be associated with a transaction deviceidentifier as described with respect to FIG. 2 . In the exemplary case,transaction device 50 may be a card. When initially provisioningtransaction device 50 with a transaction device identifier using thedigital asset application, a key pair associated with transaction device50 may be generated.

At step S40, user 310 inputs into computing device 330 a request togenerate a digital asset. User 310 may input the request into aninterface provided by the digital asset application running on computingdevice 330. User 310 may provide additional information with therequest, such as a cryptocurrency value to be associated with thedigital asset.

At step S41, user 310 requests to activate the digital asset withrespect to transaction device 50. In some embodiments, user 310 does notneed to explicitly enter into computing device 330 an indication toactivate the digital asset with respect to transaction device 50. Forexample, user 310 may simply enable information to be transferredbetween reader device 320 and transaction device 50 in order to requestactivation of the digital asset with respect to transaction device. Insome cases, user 310 may enable information to be transferred betweenreader device 320 and transaction device 50 by swiping transactiondevice 50 using reader device 320, which may read the transaction deviceidentifier associated with transaction device 50. In other embodiments,user 310 may input a request into an interface provided by the digitalasset application in addition to enabling information to be transferredbetween reader device 320 and transaction device 50.

At step S42, reader device 320 may communicate with computing device330. Reader device 320 may be in communication with computing device 330by a wired connection or a wireless connection over a communicationnetwork. Reader device 320 may send the transaction device identifier tocomputing device 330. The digital asset application on computing device330 may be configured so that it initiates an activation process for thedigital asset with respect to transaction device 50 upon receiving thetransaction device identifier from reader device 320.

At step S43, computing device 330 sends the request to generate thedigital asset to financial institution computer 350. The request may besent with information indicating the cryptocurrency value input by user310 and the transaction device identifier associated with transactiondevice 50. In some cases, the request may be sent with additionalinformation that can be used to generate the digital asset, such asidentification information associated with user 310 (e.g., public keyassociated with user 310).

At step S44, financial institution computer 350 sends the request toissuer node 340, which generates the digital asset based on the request.In some embodiments, financial institution computer 350 may check thatthe bank account of user 310 has enough funds relative to thecryptocurrency value prior to sending the request to generate thedigital asset. If enough funds are available, issuer node 340 maygenerate the digital asset based on information sent with the request.Issuer node 340 may associate the digital asset with the transactiondevice identifier associated with transaction device 50.

The digital asset may be data including digital asset attributescorresponding to the digital asset. For example, the digital assetattributes may include a value and a digital asset identifier. The valuemay be the cryptocurrency value input by user 310 and the digital assetidentifier may be an identifier generated by issuer node 340 thatuniquely identifies the digital asset. For example, the digital assetidentifier may be a string of alphanumeric characters. In someembodiments, the digital asset may further comprise a BIN identifier, atimestamp, and identification information associated with thedistributing user (e.g., public key of user 310).

At step S45, issuer node 340 sends the digital asset to financialinstitution computer 350. Financial institution computer 350 may thensend information related to the digital asset to computing device 330 atstep S46 and to digital assets service provider computer 360 at step S48in any suitable order or in parallel.

At steps S46 and S47, information related to the generated digital assetmay be sent to reader device 320 by computing device 330, which canprovision the information onto transaction device 50. In some cases, theinformation may include certain digital asset attributes correspondingto the digital asset, such as the value, the digital asset identifier,and identification information associated with user 310. In some cases,the information may be programmed onto transaction device 50 during thesame swipe conducted in step S41. In other cases, the digital assetapplication on computing device may be configured so that user 310 maybe requested to swipe transaction device 50 another time using readerdevice 320, in order to provision the information onto transactiondevice 50.

At step S48, financial institution computer 350 forwards the informationrelated to the digital asset to digital assets service provider computer360. In some embodiments, digital assets service provider computer 360may store the information related to the digital asset in associationwith the transaction device identifier corresponding to transactiondevice 50 in a database (not shown).

At step S49, digital assets service provider computer 360 communicateswith manager node 381. Digital assets service provider computer 360 maylook for a digital asset account associated with transaction device 50.If this is the first time that a digital asset is activated with respectto transaction device 50, the digital asset account may not exist.Digital assets service provider computer 360 may then generate thedigital asset account associated with transaction device 50 and bind thedigital asset account with a public address (e.g., public key)associated with transaction device 50. This enables any digital assetsthat are issued to transaction device 50 in the future to be associatedwith the digital asset account associated with transaction device 50.

Digital assets service provider computer 360 can send relevantinformation to manager node 381 that indicates the activation of thedigital asset with respect to transaction device 50. In this case, theinformation can indicate at least the entity that requested generationof the digital asset (user 310) and their public address (public key),the transaction device for which the digital asset was activated(transaction device 50) and its corresponding public address (publickey), the digital asset identifier, and the value (cryptocurrency value)corresponding to the digital asset. In some embodiments, transactiondevice 50 can be indicated by its corresponding transaction deviceidentifier.

Digital assets service provider computer 360 may include a digitalsignature with the information to be sent to manager node 381. Thedigital signature may be generated by using the private key associatedwith user 310. This can allow other entities (e.g., nodes) that mayaccess the information to verify, based on the digital signature, thatuser 310 requested to activate the digital asset with respect totransaction device 50. For example, the other entities can use thecorresponding public key associated with user 310 to verify the digitalsignature and thus verify that the information is valid. Thisverification can ensure that the digital asset is issued to transactiondevice 50.

At step S50, digital assets service provider computer 360 requestsfinancial institution computer 350 to issue the digital asset to thedigital asset account associated with transaction device 50. Based onthe request, financial institution computer 350 may initiate the processof updating ledger 370 to include the information received by managernode 381.

At step S51, financial institution computer 350 sends an instruction toupdate ledger 370. The ledger 370 may be in the form of a block chainthat can be updated to include a new entry comprising the informationreceived by manager node 381 indicating the transfer of the digitalasset. In addition, the new entry may also comprise a data header thatincludes information that makes the new entry unalterable withoutdetection. For example, the data header may include a hash of theprevious entry in ledger 370 and a root value of all past transactions.Since each entry in ledger 370 may be generated in a similar manner byincluding a data header storing information referencing its previousentry and previous transactions, no entry can be modified withoutaffecting all following entries. This ensures that any tampering ofinformation related to transactions, such as an attempt to reassign adigital asset to an inappropriate entity, will not go unnoticed. Anexemplary number of entries in the form of a block chain as describedabove are shown in FIG. 7 .

At step S52, digital assets service provider computer 360 pushes updatedinformation to the digital asset application running on computing device330. The updated information may include an updated total value assignedto the digital asset account of user 310. The total value may be viewedby user 310 through an interface of the digital wallet. In this case,the updated total value can show a decrease corresponding to thecryptocurrency value of the digital asset activated with respect totransaction device 50.

After the digital asset has been activated with respect to transactiondevice 50 and ledger 370 has been updated, a settlement process may beperformed (not shown). The settlement process may be performed betweenfinancial institution computer 350 associated with user 310 and afinancial institution computer that holds money corresponding to digitalassets associated with transaction device 50. The latter is described inmore detail with respect to FIG.

4.

At step S53, user 310 may provide transaction device 50 to user 312. Insome embodiments, user 310 may directly deliver transaction device 50 touser 312. In other embodiments, user 310 may provide transaction device50 to user 312 using other methods, such as mailing transaction device50. After obtaining transaction device 50, user 312 may utilizetransaction device 50 to conduct a transaction using the digital asset,which is described in more detail with respect to FIG. 4 .

It is understood that in some cases, the distributing user (e.g., user310) may activate digital assets with respect to a plurality oftransaction devices, where each transaction device can be provided to adifferent recipient user. The distributing user may perform a similarprocess to that described with respect to FIG. 3 for each transactiondevice.

It some embodiments, the distributing user may activate multiple digitalassets with respect to a single transaction device. The multiple digitalassets can be activated at different times. In some cases, thedistributing user may activate a new digital asset with respect to thetransaction device after certain time intervals. For example, thedistributing user may be an employer that activates a new digital assetin regular time intervals corresponding to a salary period for arecipient user. In this case, the recipient user may use theirtransaction device to conduct transactions in between the salaryperiods. At the beginning of a new salary period, the recipient user mayprovide their transaction device to the distributing user to requestactivation of a new digital asset. The distributing user may perform asimilar process to that described with respect to FIG. 3 to activate thenew digital asset with respect to the transaction device. In someembodiments, the recipient user does not have to provide theirtransaction device to the distributing user, since the distributing usercan simply indicate the transaction device identifier associated withthe transaction device to the digital assets service provider computerwhen activating a new digital asset.

In some cases, some digital assets previously activated with respect tothe transaction device may still have value and thus the recipient usermay then be able to use the remaining value corresponding to thepreviously activated digital assets, as well as the value correspondingto the new digital asset. The transaction device may thus storeinformation related to multiple digital assets.

FIG. 4 shows a system with a flow diagram of use of a digital assetassociated with a transaction device according to embodiments of theinvention. FIG. 4 includes some components of FIG. 3 . FIG. 4 alsoincludes a resource provider computer 410, a financial institutioncomputer 420 and a ledger 430. Resource provider computer 410 may beassociated with a resource provider with which user 312 conducts atransaction. Resource provider computer 410 may be set up with a digitalasset account so that it can support payment using digital assets. Asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 3 , financial institution computer350 may be associated with the financial institution that hosts a bankaccount of the distributing user (user 310 of FIG. 3 ).

Financial institution computer 420 may be associated with any suitablefinancial institution that can hold money corresponding tocryptocurrency values associated with transaction device 50. In somecases, the financial institution associated with financial institutioncomputer 420 may have a relationship with a payment processor associatedwith digital assets service provider computer 360. For example, thefinancial institution may have a partnership with the financialinstitution that allows financial institution computer 420 to hold moneycorresponding to cryptocurrency values associated with transactiondevice 50. In other embodiments, financial institution computer 420 maybe associated with the same financial institution as that associatedwith financial institution computer 350.

At step S61, user 312 may use transaction device 50 to conduct thetransaction with resource provider computer 410. User 312 may utilizetransaction device 50 at a point-of-sale terminal of resource providercomputer 410. For example, user 312 may swipe transaction device 50 atan access device (not shown), which may send information read fromtransaction device 50 to resource provider computer 410. As describedwith respect to FIG. 3 , the information may include certain digitalasset attributes corresponding to the digital asset activated withrespect to transaction device 50, such as the value, the digital assetidentifier, and identification information associated with thedistributing user (user 310 of FIG. 3 ). Additionally, the informationmay include the transaction device identifier associated withtransaction device 50.

At steps S62 and S63, resource provider computer 410 sends theinformation read from transaction device 50 (see S61) to digital assetsservice provider computer 360, which then requests verification ofbalances in the digital asset account corresponding to transactiondevice 50. Digital assets service provider computer 360 may determine amanager node associated with the received identification informationassociated with user 310, which in this case may be manager node 381.Digital assets service provider computer 360 may then request managernode 381 to verify that the digital asset was activated with respect totransaction device 50.

Manager node 381 may verify that the digital asset was activated withrespect to transaction device 50 by confirming that that the digitalasset is issued to the public address bound to the digital asset accountcorresponding to transaction device 50. Upon confirmation, manager node381 may notify digital assets service provider computer 360 that thedigital asset is indeed associated with transaction device 50. Thisallows digital assets service provider computer 360 to also verify thebalance associated with transaction device 50 and ensure that thebalance is at least equal to the transaction amount of the currenttransaction.

At step S64, digital assets service provider computer 360 requestsfinancial institution computer 350 to initiate the process for recordingdata related to the current transaction. Specifically, digital assetsservice provider computer 360 may request financial institution computer350 to build, sign, and submit the transaction data related to thecurrent transaction. In some embodiments, the transaction data canindicate at least the entity that distributed the digital asset (user310 in FIG. 3 ) and their public address (public key), the transactiondevice to which the digital asset was activated (transaction device 50)and their public address (public key), and the digital asset identifiercorresponding to the digital asset. Transaction device 50 may beindicated by its corresponding transaction device identifier.

Additionally, the transaction data can also indicate the value of thedigital asset utilized for the transaction. For example, if thetransaction amount uses the full cryptocurrency value associated withthe digital asset, the transaction data may indicate that the full valueof the digital asset is now assigned to resource provider computer 410instead of transaction device 50. In another example, if the fullcryptocurrency value associated with the digital asset is not utilizedfor the transaction, the value of the digital asset can be split. Inthis case, the transaction data may indicate how much of the value isassigned to the digital asset account of resource provider computer 410and how much of the value is to be remain associated with transactiondevice 50 as a result of the transaction.

Financial institution computer 350 may fetch a private key to use todigitally sign the transaction data. The private key may be associatedwith the digital asset that is being used to pay for the transaction.The private key may have been generated along with a correspondingpublic key when the digital asset was first generated by issuer node 340(see FIG. 3 ) and stored by financial institution computer 350.

At steps S65 and S66, financial institution computer 350 submits thesigned transaction data to manager node 381, which then triggers othermanager nodes residing on digital assets payment network 380 to contactentities that maintain ledgers to update their ledgers with the newtransaction data. By communicating the update to other nodes residing ondigital assets payment network 380, this ensures that any entitymaintaining a ledger can verify the authenticity of the transaction. Forexample, the digital signature included with the submitted transactiondata can be verified by using the corresponding public key, which ismade publicly available.

At steps S67 and S68, manager node 381 sends an instruction to updatetheir ledger to financial institution computer 350, which then updatesledger 370 with the new transaction data. Ledger 370 may be in the formof a block chain and the new transaction data can be stored in a newentry. The new entry may also comprise a data header that includesinformation that makes the new entry unalterable without detection. Forexample, the data header may include a hash of the previous entry inledger 370 and a root value calculated based on all past transactiondata. Since each entry in ledger 370 may be generated in a similarmanner by including a data header storing information referencing itsprevious entry and previous transactions, no entry can be modifiedwithout affecting all following entries. This ensures that any tamperingof information related to transactions, such as an attempt reassign adigital asset to an inappropriate entity, will not go unnoticed. Anexemplary number of entries in the form of a block chain as describedabove are shown in FIG. 7 .

At steps S69 and S70, manager node 382 sends an instruction to updatetheir ledger to financial institution computer 420, which then updatesledger 430 with the new transaction data. Similarly to ledger 370,ledger 430 may be in the form of a block chain and the new transactiondata can be stored in a new entry. The new entry may also comprise adata header that includes information that makes the new entryunalterable without detection. For example, the data header may includea hash of the previous entry in ledger 430 and a root value calculatedbased on all past transactions. Since each entry in ledger 430 may begenerated in a similar manner by including a data header storinginformation referencing its previous entry and previous transactions, noentry can be modified without affecting all following entries. Thisensures that any tampering of information related to transactions, suchas an attempt reassign a digital asset to an inappropriate entity, willnot go unnoticed. An exemplary number of entries in the form of a blockchain as described above are shown in FIG. 7 .

At the end of the day, a settlement process may be performed.Specifically, the settlement process may result in moving thetransaction amount from the ACH (automated clearing house) accountassociated with transaction device 50 hosted by financial institutioncomputer 420 to the ACH account associated with resource providercomputer 410 with which user 312 performed the transaction.

While an embodiment in which a single digital asset is utilized for thetransaction is described in detail above, embodiments are not solimited. In some embodiments, the transaction device can storeinformation associated with multiple digital assets activated withrespect to the transaction device. In this case, the access device mayread information stored by the transaction device related to all of itscorresponding digital assets and send the information to the digitalassets service provider computer. The digital assets service providercomputer may then determine an appropriate set of digital assets thatcan be utilized to pay for the transaction. If multiple digital assetsare utilized for the transaction, the digital assets service providercomputer may indicate in the transaction data sent to the financialinstitution computers managing ledgers the information identifying eachdigital asset used (e.g., digital asset identifier) and the value usedtowards the transaction for each digital asset.

Embodiments of the invention advantageously enable convenient systemsand methods for distributing wages. A distributing user does not have tomanage and distribute cash, since they can easily load digital assets totransaction devices at convenient times. Further, the distributing usercan track their previously distributed digital assets using theirdigital asset application, which is useful when activating, especiallyat different times, digital assets with respect to transaction devicesfor a plurality of recipient users. Paying for a transaction using atransaction device associated with digital assets is also a convenientprocess for a recipient user. The recipient user does not have to createany account to use digital assets associated with the transaction devicein cashless transactions. In addition, the transaction device iscompatible with typical transaction processing systems, so no furthersetup processes are needed by the recipient user. If the recipient userdoes want to track the value remaining corresponding to theirtransaction device, they can simply query the digital assets serviceprovider computer by providing the transaction device identifierdirectly (e.g., by digital asset application) or through an intermediateentity (e.g., resource provider computer, payment processing servercomputer, etc.).

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of an exemplary system with at least someof the components for implementing embodiments of the invention. FIG. 5describes in more detail entities that may be involved in processing afinancial transaction such as that described with respect to FIG. 4 .FIG. 5 includes a user 501, a transaction device 502, access device 503,a resource provider computer 504, an acquirer computer 505, and apayment processor server computer 506.

Any of the computing devices (e.g., transaction device 502, accessdevice 503, resource provider computer 504, acquirer computer 505,payment processor server computer 506) may include a processor and acomputer readable medium comprising code, executable by the processorfor performing the functionality described herein. Further, any of thecomputing devices may be in communication by any suitable communicationsnetwork.

The communications network may comprise a plurality of networks forsecure communication of data and information between entities. In someembodiments, the communications network may follow a suitablecommunication protocol to generate one or more secure communicationchannels. Any suitable communications protocol may be used forgenerating a communications channel. A communication channel may in someinstances comprise a “secure communication channel,” which may beestablished in any known manner, including the use of mutualauthentication and a session key and establishment of an SSL session.However, any method of creating a secure channel may be used. Byestablishing a secure channel, sensitive information may be securelytransmitted to facilitate a transaction.

User 501 (which may also be known as a consumer) may operate transactiondevice 502. User 501 may be a recipient user, where another distributinguser activates digital assets with respect to transaction device 502. Insome embodiments, user 501 may receive transaction device 502 from thedistributing user.

Transaction device 502 may be any suitable device to conduct atransaction. In some embodiments, transaction device 502 may be atransaction card, which may be programmable. In other embodiments,transaction device 502 may be a computing device that includes a memory.Transaction device 502 may communicate over a communications networkwith one or more entities (e.g., access device 503, resource providercomputer 504, payment processor server computer, etc.). Transactiondevice 502 may be capable of communicating with access device 503. Insome embodiments, transaction device 502 may be capable of communicatingby contact or wirelessly with access device 503. In other cases,transaction device 502 may be utilized in a card-not-presenttransaction, such as through a website. Some non-limiting examples oftransaction device 502 include mobile devices (e.g., cellular phones,keychain devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, notebooks,laptops, notepads, smart watches, fitness bands, jewelry, etc.),automobiles with remote communication capabilities, personal computers,payment cards (e.g., smart cards, magnetic stripe cards, etc.), and thelike.

Access device 503 may be any suitable device that provides access to aremote system. Access device 503 may also be used for communicating witha resource provider compute (e.g., resource provider computer 504), atransaction processing computer, an authentication computer, or anyother suitable system. Access device 503 can be located in any suitablelocation, such as at the location of the resource provider associatedwith resource provider computer 504. Access device 503 may be in anysuitable form. Some examples of access devices include POS or point ofsale devices (e.g., POS terminals), cellular phones, PDAs, personalcomputers (PCs), tablet PCs, hand-held specialized readers, set-topboxes, electronic cash registers (ECRs), automated teller machines(ATMs), virtual cash registers (VCRs), kiosks, security systems, accesssystems, and the like.

Access device 503 may use any suitable contact or contactless mode ofoperation to send or receive data from, or associated with, transactiondevice 502. In some embodiments, where access device 503 comprises a POSterminal, any suitable POS terminal may be used and may include areader, a processor, and a computer-readable medium. A reader mayinclude any suitable contact or contactless mode of operation. Forexample, exemplary card readers can include radio frequency (RF)antennas, optical scanners, bar code readers, or magnetic stripe readersto interact with a payment device and/or mobile device. In someembodiments, a cellular phone, tablet, or other dedicated wirelessdevice used as a POS terminal may be referred to as a mobile point ofsale or an “mPOS” terminal.

Resource provider computer 504 (also known as a merchant computer) maybe configured to receive and process transaction data. In someembodiments, the transaction data may be received from transactiondevice 502 or access device 503 in communication with transaction device502. Resource provider computer 504 may engage in transactions, sellgoods or services, or provide access to goods or services to theconsumer. Resource provider computer 504 may accept multiple forms ofpayment and may use multiple tools to conduct different types oftransactions. For example, resource provider computer 504 may sell goodsand/or services via a website or application, and may accept paymentsover the Internet. Resource provider computer 504 may also be associatedwith a physical store that utilizes access device 503 for in-persontransactions.

Acquirer computer 505 may be a system or an entity (e.g., a bank) thathas a business relationship with resource provider computer 504.Acquirer computer 505 may manage funds associated with resource providercomputer 504. Acquirer computer 505 may route authorization requests fortransactions to payment processor server computer 506.

Payment processor server computer 506 may include data processingsubsystems, networks, and operations used to support and deliverauthorization services, and clearing and settlement services. Paymentprocessor server computer 506 may be associated with a paymentprocessing network. An example of a payment processing network includesVisaNet®, operated by Visa®. The payment processing network may includewired or wireless network, including the internet. In some embodiments,payment processor server computer 506 may also operate a digital assetsservice provider computer. As described with respect to FIG. 4 , thedigital assets service provider computer may be in communication withone or more financial institution computers.

While embodiments of the invention utilized in financial contexts aredescribed in detail above, embodiments are not so limited. For example,digital assets may correspond to non-currency values, such as timevalues, access privilege values, and other suitable values, which can beactivated with respect to a transaction device to be used by a recipientuser. An exemplary case is described with respect to FIG. 6 .

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a non-financial system according toembodiments of the invention. FIG. 6 includes a user 601, a transactiondevice 602, access devices 603, 604, and 605, a digital assets serviceprovider computer 606, a server computer 607, and a server computer 608.In this exemplary case, a distributing user (not shown) may providetransaction device 602 to user 601, a recipient user. Prior to providingtransaction device 602 to user 601, the distributing user can activate adigital asset with respect to transaction device 602 in a similar mannerto that described at least with respect to FIG. 3 . However, in thiscase, the digital asset may correspond to a non-currency value, such asan access privileges value. The access privileges value may indicate thenumber of times that the distributing user allows for user 601 to usevarious pieces of equipment. For example, the digital asset may indicatethat user 601 can access any of equipment A, equipment B, and equipmentC for a total of ten usages. Hence, by providing transaction device 602to user 601, the distributing user can enable user 601 to use theequipment for a specified number of uses corresponding to the activateddigital asset. The use of the digital asset activated with respect totransaction device 602 is described below. Some steps may be describedin further detail with respect to corresponding steps described for FIG.4 .

After receiving transaction device 602, user 601 can utilize transactiondevice 602 to access equipment as enabled by the digital asset. Theequipment may be configured so that a user can access the equipmentbased on communicating with an access device using transaction device602. For example, when user 601 wants to utilize equipment A, user 601may swipe transaction device 602 using access device 603 associated withequipment A. Similarly, user 601 may swipe transaction device 602 usingaccess device 604 to utilize equipment B and swipe transaction device602 using access device 605 to utilize equipment C. It is understoodthat access devices 603, 604, and 605 may support other methods ofcontact and contactless communication that are compatible withtransaction device 602. Each of access devices 603, 604, and 605 may bein communication with digital assets service provider computer 606.

In an exemplary case, user 601 may swipe transaction device 602 usingaccess device to utilize equipment A. Access device 603 can readinformation related to digital assets activated with respect totransaction device 602. In this case, access device 603 may read thatthe digital asset previously activated by the distributing user isassociated with transaction device 602 and corresponding to a value often usages. Access device 603 may send information related to thedigital asset read from transaction device 602 to digital assets serviceprovider computer 606. In some embodiments, the information may includethe digital asset identifier corresponding to the digital asset, thetransaction device identifier associated with transaction device 602,and identification information associated with the distributing user ofthe digital asset.

Digital assets service provider computer 606 may then communicate withserver computer 607 and server computer 608. Server computer 607 may beassociated with the distributing user and may manage digital assetsdistributed by the distributing user. Server computer 607 can manage aledger (not shown) that records information related to digital assetsdistributed by the distributing user. Server computer 608 may beassociated with an entity (e.g., owner) that wants to track usage ofequipment A. In some embodiments, server computer 608 may also beassociated with equipment B and equipment C. Server computer 608 canmanage a ledger (not shown) that records information related to usage ofdigital assets with respect to equipment A, B, and C.

Digital assets service provider computer 606 may communicate with servercomputer 607 to verify details related to the digital asset. Digitalassets service provider computer 606 may request server computer 607 toverify that the digital asset used by user 601 was previously activatedwith respect to transaction device 602. Server computer 607 can thenverify the digital asset based on checking their ledger for anindication that the digital asset was indeed distributed by thedistributing user and activated with respect to transaction device 602.Server computer 607 may also verify that there remains value associatedwith the digital asset (e.g., not all ten usages have been used). Servercomputer 607 may indicate to digital assets service provider computer606 that the digital asset is verified.

Subsequently, digital assets service provider computer 606 may requestserver computer 607 and server computer 608 to update their ledgers toindicate the use of the digital asset corresponding to transactiondevice 602. In some embodiments, digital assets service providercomputer 606 may build transaction data including information related tothe digital asset (e.g., digital asset identifier, distributing useridentification information) and the transaction device identifierassociated with transaction device 602. The transaction data can alsoindicate that equipment A was utilized for one usage, bringing the valueassociated with the digital asset to a total of nine remaining usages ofthe equipment. Digital assets service provider computer 606 may send thetransaction data to server computer 607 and server computer 608, whichcan update their ledgers with the transaction data. This ensures thatthe involved entities each have a record of the remaining usagescorresponding to the digital asset associated with transaction device602. The entities can use this information during subsequenttransactions to determine whether transaction device 602 is valid forfurther usage with the equipment.

As described herein, the ledgers managed by server computer 607 andserver computer 608 may be in the form of block chains. A new entry in aledgers can comprise a data header that includes information that makesthe new entry unalterable without detection. For example, the dataheader may include a hash of the previous entry in the ledger and a rootvalue of all past transactions. Since each entry in the ledger may begenerated in a similar manner by including a data header storinginformation referencing its previous entry and previous transactions, noentry can be modified without affecting all following entries. Thisensures that any tampering of information related to transactions, suchas an attempt to reassign a digital asset to an inappropriate entity,will not go unnoticed. An exemplary number of entries in the form of ablock chain as described above are shown in FIG. 7 .

Embodiments of the invention enable advantages. For example, thedistributor can provide user 601 with access privileges, even thoughuser 601 may not have a relationship with digital assets serviceprovider computer 606 or server computer 608. This is convenient, sinceuser 601 does not have to take the time to sign up for an account.Additionally, user 601 may only need to access the equipment temporarily(e.g., for a limited number of times), in which case generating anaccount can waste computing resources utilized towards storing accountdata. Further, since server computers 607 and 608 maintain ledgers thatrecord information related to past transactions, this enables multipleentities to verify the digital asset provided to and used by user 601.This provides additional layers of security, since it makes it difficultfor user 601 to misuse (e.g., overuse) access privileges for theequipment.

A computer system may be utilized to implement any of the entities orcomponents described above. Subsystems of the computer system may beinterconnected via a system bus. Additional subsystems may include aprinter, a keyboard, a fixed disk (or other memory comprising computerreadable media), a monitor, which is coupled to a display adapter, andothers. Peripherals and input/output (I/O) devices, which couple to anI/O controller (which can be a processor or other suitable controller),can be connected to the computer system by any number of means known inthe art, such as by a serial port. For example, the serial port orexternal interface can be used to connect the computer apparatus to awide area network such as the Internet, a mouse input device, or ascanner. The interconnection via system bus allows the central processorto communicate with each subsystem and to control the execution ofinstructions from system memory or the fixed disk, as well as theexchange of information between subsystems. The system memory and/or thefixed disk may embody a computer readable medium. In some embodiments,the monitor may be a touch sensitive display screen.

Specific details regarding some of the above-described aspects areprovided above. The specific details of the specific aspects may becombined in any suitable manner without departing from the spirit andscope of embodiments of the technology. For example, back endprocessing, data analysis, data collection, and other transactions mayall be combined in some embodiments of the technology. However, otherembodiments of the technology may be directed to specific embodimentsrelating to each individual aspect, or specific combinations of theseindividual aspects.

It should be understood that the present technology as described abovecan be implemented in the form of control logic using computer software(stored in a tangible physical medium) in a modular or integratedmanner. While the present invention has been described using aparticular combination of hardware and software in the form of controllogic and programming code and instructions, it should be recognizedthat other combinations of hardware and software are also within thescope of the present invention. Based on the disclosure and teachingsprovided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will know andappreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the present technologyusing hardware and a combination of hardware and software

Any of the software components or functions described in thisapplication, may be implemented as software code to be executed by aprocessor using any suitable computer language such as, for example,Java, C++ or Perl using, for example, conventional or object-orientedtechniques. The software code may be stored as a series of instructions,or commands on a computer readable medium, such as a random accessmemory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as ahard-drive or a floppy disk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. Anysuch computer readable medium may reside on or within a singlecomputational apparatus, and may be present on or within differentcomputational apparatuses within a system or network.

The above description is illustrative and is not restrictive. Manyvariations of the technology will become apparent to those skilled inthe art upon review of the disclosure. The scope of the technologyshould, therefore, be determined not with reference to the abovedescription, but instead should be determined with reference to thepending claims along with their full scope or equivalents.

In some embodiments, any of the entities described herein may beembodied by a computer that performs any or all of the functions andsteps disclosed.

One or more features from any embodiment may be combined with one ormore features of any other embodiment without departing from the scopeof the technology.

A recitation of “a”, “an” or “the” is intended to mean “one or more”unless specifically indicated to the contrary.

All patents, patent applications, publications, and descriptionsmentioned above are herein incorporated by reference in their entiretyfor all purposes. None is admitted to be prior art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a computingdevice from a first user, a request to generate a digital asset;sending, by the computing device, the request to a service providercomputer, wherein the service provider computer generates the digitalasset; and initiating, by the computing device, activation of thedigital asset with respect to a transaction device to be provided to asecond user, wherein the service provider computer sends a request toupdate a first unalterable electronic ledger to indicate an associationof the digital asset with the transaction device, wherein the seconduser utilizes the transaction device to conduct a transaction, andwherein the service provider computer sends a request to update a secondunalterable electronic ledger to indicate the use of the digital assetby the second user.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the serviceprovider computer sends a request to update the first unalterableelectronic ledger to indicate the use of the digital asset by the seconduser.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by thecomputing device, a request to associate the transaction device with atransaction device identifier; and sending, by the computing device, therequest to the service provider computer, wherein the service providercomputer associates the transaction device with the transaction deviceidentifier.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein a reader device that is incommunication with the computing device provisions the transactiondevice with the transaction device identifier.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: activating the digital asset with respect to thetransaction device comprises associating a digital asset identifier anda value corresponding to the digital asset with the transaction device.6. The method of claim 1, wherein the transaction device is a card. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein the request to update the firstunalterable electronic ledger is sent to a first financial institutioncomputer, wherein the first financial institution computer updates thefirst unalterable electronic ledger.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereinthe request to update the second unalterable electronic ledger is sentto a second financial institution computer, wherein the second financialinstitution computer updates the second unalterable electronic ledger.9. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first unalterableelectronic ledger and the second unalterable electronic ledger includesa block chain.
 10. A computing device comprising: a processor; and acomputer readable medium coupled to the processor, the computer readablemedium comprising code that, when executed by the processor, causes theprocessor to perform a method including: receiving, from a first user, arequest to generate a digital asset; sending the request to a serviceprovider computer, wherein the service provider computer generates thedigital asset; and initiating activation of the digital asset withrespect to a transaction device to be provided to a second user, whereinthe service provider computer sends a request to update a firstunalterable electronic ledger to indicate an association of the digitalasset with the transaction device, wherein the second user utilizes thetransaction device to conduct a transaction, and wherein the serviceprovider computer sends a request to update a second unalterableelectronic ledger to indicate the use of the digital asset by the seconduser.
 11. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the service providercomputer sends a request to update the first unalterable electronicledger to indicate the use of the digital asset by the second user. 12.The computing device of claim 10, wherein the method further includes:receiving a request to associate the transaction device with atransaction device identifier; and sending the request to the serviceprovider computer, wherein the service provider computer associates thetransaction device with the transaction device identifier.
 13. Thecomputing device of claim 12, wherein a reader device that is incommunication with the computing device provisions the transactiondevice with the transaction device identifier.
 14. The computing deviceof claim 10, wherein the method further includes: activating the digitalasset with respect to the transaction device includes associating adigital asset identifier and a value corresponding to the digital assetwith the transaction device.
 15. The computing device of claim 10,wherein the transaction device is a card.
 16. The computing device ofclaim 10, wherein the request to update the first unalterable electronicledger is sent to a first financial institution computer, wherein thefirst financial institution computer updates the first unalterableelectronic ledger.
 17. The computing device of claim 16, wherein therequest to update the second unalterable electronic ledger is sent to asecond financial institution computer, wherein the second financialinstitution computer updates the second unalterable electronic ledger.18. The computing device of claim 10, wherein each of the firstunalterable electronic ledger and the second unalterable electronicledger includes a block chain.